United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending January 23, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Rail carloads—at 230,979—were down 0.7% annually, below the 232,550 recorded for the week ending January 16 and the 235,404, for the week ending January 9.
AAR said that Ffive of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: grain, up 5,481 carloads, to 27,295; chemicals, up 846 carloads, to 32,140; and forest products, up 603 carloads, to 10,192. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2020 included coal, down 4,949 carloads, to 63,474; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,672 carloads, to 25,233; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,139 carloads, to 12,522.
Intermodal containers and trailers—at 298,051—headed up 17.8% annually, topping the weeks ending January 16 and January 9, at 295,997 and 289,849, respectively.
Through the first three weeks of 2021, AAR said that U.S. rail carloads—at 698,933—are off 1.4%, and intermodal units—at 883,897—are up 13.6%.